Salmone al Cartoccio

Need to detox from the Thanksgiving holiday and ahead of the onslaught of rich foods in the next few weeks? This one’s for you. It’s simple to prepare, elegant enough for company, healthy and flavorful to boot. I used salmon, but you could use nearly any fish – halibut or cod would be great here. For the bed of veggies, I used what I had on hand – carrots, parsnips, celery, leeks and radicchio. But if you’re on the way to the market, get some snow peas, asparagus, zucchini or any number of other veggies that cook up quickly once they’re sliced. Start by taking the vegetables and cutting them into julienne strips or small pieces. Place in a mixing bowl. In addition to the veggies, I added some chopped parsley, a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, some salt and pepper and a clove of minced garlic. Swish it all in a bowl. Next take a piece of parchment paper, cut it in a sort of loosely-shaped heart and put it on a cookie sheet: Lay the vegetables inside the parchment: Place the fish on top of the veggies, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil, then top with a slice of lemon: Start at one end and crimp the edges by folding them over on each other: Before you finish crimping, pour in some white wine – maybe a couple of tablespoons worth: Finish crimping tightly and put in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. It could be longer for a thicker piece of fish, or it could be shorter if the fish is not so thick. This is what it looks like fresh from the oven – just a little browning of the parchment: Cut open the parchment – careful of the steam – and eat: Salmone al Cartoccio (salmon in parchment) printable recipe here salmon – about 6 ounces per serving 2 T. olive oil vegetables – carrots, parsnips, leeks, celery garlic, parsley or whatever you like minced garlic, one clove salt, pepper more olive oil to drizzle over fish sliced lemon 4 T. white wine for two parcels Slice the vegetables thinly and mix with the olive oil, parsley and garlic in a bowl. Place vegetables in the parchment paper and put fish on top. Drizzle fish with more olive oil, salt and pepper and top with a lemon slice. Crimp edges, leaving a small opening to pour in a couple of tablespoons of white wine for each parcel. Finish crimping and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, depending on thickness of fish.

Mouth-watering. Will be making this. My husband especially adores his salmon and always looking for new ways to prepare it. How wonderful to make something refreshingly healthy be also extraordinarily good!

Linda, thanks for stopping by my blog. I loved your story about visiting the places your father was during the war. If you do decide to bring him here, please let me know–there are people in Belgium who take care of any GIs who come back–meet them at the airport, take them wherever they want to go, house them, feed them, whatever they need will be done for them. I hope that he can make this trip. If you come again with or without him, let me know–I'd love to meet you.

In my last life, I was a journalist in NYC, but left the rat race to live in Italy for a year. I created this blog upon my return to combine my interests of writing and photography with my love of food and travel. Read more about me here...

In my last life, I was a journalist in NYC, but left the rat race to live in Italy for a year. I created this blog upon my return to combine my interests of writing and photography with my love of food and travel. Read more about me here...